fogetti comments

Also it was on the news yesterday that the government has already started paying out the relief payments to the same companies.

While I haven't seen neither my 100000 yen nor my masks as of today.

A collection of oxymorons here

The correct sentence reads: "A collection of morons here"

Floating coffins

Also, he likes to do all the big talk about bold fiscal and monetary measures but still, when his own party suggested the idea of cutting (or even eliminating) the consumption tax for the time being he eventually rejected it altogether.

Abe has to go fast. Just like Hoover had to go during the great depression. Just like Hoover, Abe also doesn't care about the commoners and that will cost him dearly.

Also, while Japan could quickly escape the great depression through keynesian measures and by quickly leaving the gold standard so to generate inflation, this is not possible in the current situation. Abe sits in the same boat as other nations. So there is no quick escape route this time.

This article reminds me of the South Park episode where Gerald moves his family to San Francisco and in one of the scenes he is shown to enjoy smelling his own fart as a caricature of uppitiness and smugness. Why is this nihonjinron crap necessary? Do the foreign readers enjoy this?

Japan initially seemed to have controlled the outbreak by going after clusters of infections in specific places

No it hasn't! It was the dumbest stupidest idea ever. And everyone could see that this would lead to an uncontrollable situation down the road, except those who live in denial. The same is true for the lack of early exhaustive testing.

I "like" how these articles call these people advisers instead lobbyists or oligarch representatives, which are closer to the truth in reality.

So now that the virus accelerates, let's all get crammed into those jam-packed trains. Logical, isn't it.

@smartacus

If people don't stay at home the infections will accelerate. The problem is not that 80% survives with mild symptoms. The problem is that 20% of 120 million people are still 24,000,000. So tell me how will you treat that many people with not so mild symptoms??? (Of course the real numbers will be much much lower, I am ware of that, but a magnitude smaller number of people will still flood the healthcare system) I wouldn't be happy to hear about my relatives dying in intensive care in horror alone, connected to a ventilator.

And that's one city only. I wouldn't be surprised to see the number of cases rising in other cities too.

And let me guess, the infection counter will stop this weekend again. Because we all know that this a very polite virus. It doesn't infect anyone on weekends out of courtesy.

shoehorning an Olympics into what is already a packed sporting calendar in 2021

That by itself is an indicator that the Olympics is not needed at all after all. Why hold the Olympics on top of so many other sport events?

And by the way, all the above headache could have been long resolved decades ago if the IOC wouldn't so stubbornly insist on sticking to this idea of a traveling circus around the world. There could be one host city in the world and be done with it. If sports is of the utmost importance for the IOC then that shouldn't be a problem.

@M3M3M3

 It seems unfair to leave Japanese taxpayers bearing the entire cost for such an unexpected and costly rescheduling of an international event.

Would you propose to share the profit with the participating countries' taxpayers too when the olympics eventually takes place?

Also if Japanese taxpayers don't like the costs of the olympics they could have chosen to refuse hosting the olympics by holding a referendum as other countries (Germany, Hungary) did. Or could have also negotiated better terms with the IOC which they also failed to do.

As of Sunday, Japan had 1,719 confirmed cases of the virus, including 712 from a cruise ship, with 43 deaths.

2 days ago the number of confirmed cases were 1,728 reported on this very same site... So now the media doesn't even give a damn to cover up the government's deceptive actions? They just simply lie in our face and call it a day or what?

And even if the earlier count was different because of some calculation error, does anybody seriously believe that the number of cases has not grown during the weekend? There are reports of new suspected clusters in Japan each day... SMH

The death rate is pretty much the same as other countries around 4%. Also the Japanese government could clearly confirm the virulence by closely watching the cases rapidly rising on the ship. And still, here we are watching as the government allows schools and amusement parks to reopen... It boggles the mind.

"I don't know" "maybe" "perhaps" "might as well" and "dead cat bounce"

That is some fine insight into the sophistication of these pundit's expertise.

The lack of proper social services for the mentally ill (or the inefficiency thereof) and the absolute incompetence of the services in other cases (childcare, etc) in this country is boggling the mind.

@talaraedokko

Time to start comparing Japan to some dark countries

I agree. I have always thought since I arrived to this country that in many regards this place resembles a regime more than a functional democracy. The culture and the social norms are especially hair-raising if you come from a socially sensitive country from Western Europe for example.

@zichi

I stand corrected. You are right. The 50000 people are the currently displaced, and your number is correct.

@since1981

That's what I was thinking too. The justice system is a joke in Japan. Also 50000 people are dead or missing and hundreds of thousands were forced out of their homes and only 30 cases brought to the court? Japanese people really have to learn to stand up for themselves.

a boon for an economy already on the brink of recession

Can someone tell me how is an economy of a shrinking population is NOT supposed to be in recession??? Especially considering that twenty years from now there will be at least 15 million less Japanese?! I don't find Japan a productive country at all. Diligent yes, of course, productive not so much compared to other highly developed countries.

If the government's goal is to stop the recession than they should give up IMO.

Domestic violence in Japan is ugly and common these days and the elderly are very frequently targeted. That's not a rosy picture in a nation where every 3rd person is aged 65 or older.

But a 77-year-old woman in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, died as rescuers of the Tokyo Fire Department, trying to save her by helicopter, dropped her to the ground from an altitude of about 40 meters as they failed to attach a hanger to the harness that she was in, it said.

This is really gross. I feel extremely sad for this poor woman. Just imagine the terror when you feel grateful and relieved and then they drop you and you are falling to your death. :( I can't even find the words for that. :( I think first responders should be better prepared next time.

will all be linked through a membership program

So this will be a walled garden it seems

out-of-court compensation settlements could force those affected to resort to lengthy and costly legal actions

How can that be longer? Lenghtier than 8 years?????? Like how is that even possible?

It's anecdotal I admit but it happens to me every day in Tokyo that Japanese people cut in in front of me all the time around train stations and other crowded, busy places. Foreigners (who look non Asian I mean) don't do that at all to me. Japanese people just have this nasty habit to be a jerk in every possible way on the street. And even my Japanese friends tend to complain about the Japanese walking habit. I wonder how is it in other Japanese cities?

I guess two of these jerks met each other accidentally and they got into an argument.

@Reckless This might be a long shot, but what do you expect really? Or your ex boss? Women in Japan basically vanish from a legal point of view (戸籍法) from their parents' side of the family right at the moment when they sign the papers and file it in the office. From that point of time a woman is basically at the mercy of her new family. I find this very cruel and I think that's enough basis for any kind of anger or frustration to build up. Especially when her new husband comes home with the "great news" that he decided to study in the US on a whim.

I am not saying that women are immaculate in these situations though either. My experience with Japanese women is that many of them are very childish and immature in relationships and they have real difficulties to express their emotions compared with their European counterparts.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the fact that women are also supposed to abandon their family name when they marry. And I am not even a woman and I can still understand why this matters. This archaic system (not only the legal system) makes too many family members suffer.

That's Abenomics for you. Falling wages, limited labor rights plus tax hike for the taxpayers, rising business revenue for the rich.

Let me get this straight:

Washington is opposed to any endorsement

(...of a deal that it has already signed before). Tells a lot about the American attitude.

These kind of news are tragic. But the tragedy is not only a personal one. These news are basically showing the true state of society. And the picture it paints is very dark.

Why wasn't there anyone to help around this woman? And I am not only talking about family members. People these days live extremely isolated lives. This is even more amplified in Tokyo where people simply ram through each other. Wasn't there a single social worker or class mate or co-worker either? Or people were just simply ignoring this woman? We will never know. But I wouldn't immediately blame this person for making a bad decision. If she didn't know what to do, that's not necessarily her own fault.